Aurora's Deep Sleep
by Demo Summers
Summary: in a world where the prince never woke her, Sleeping Beauty wakes by herself, to find a completely different world to the one she left behind...
1. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I dont own Alien Ant Farm and did not write any of their music, no money changed hands, dont sue,  
  
Aurora's Deep Sleep  
  
...and so for 300 years she slept, undisturbed and untouched, and her prince continued to search. But to no avail. He could not find her.Nobody could, it was as though a whole kingdom had disappeared. And Princess Aurora was gone forever. In time, he gave up the search, settled down with some lesser beauty, and ruled his enchanted land as king til he died.  
  
The sun rose, and her eyes finally opened. She yawned, expecting to see him, her true love... but found herself alone. A few faint glimpses of light came through the window from the overgrown plants that had completely covered the castle. She heard a strange sound. It was... unpleasant.  
  
*****  
  
"Time is collapsiong in my head  
  
I built all the walls you cant come in...  
  
You were the one that called me last...  
  
I highly doubt this thing will last..."  
  
Matt Holloway held his chainsaw high, before swinging it, and cutting down some more of the forest. They had hired him and his team to demolish the plants here, so they could build on the land. He could barely hear the music over the chainsaw, and the money was the only reason he was doing this.  
  
They had been at it for a week now. And were nearly at the center of the forest. Nobody had ever been here before, because the sharp nettles wouldnot allow it. He wasn't even remotely phased about stepping on land nobody had ever stepped on before, nor was he phased about killing all this plantlife. He just wanted to get paid.  
  
"Holy s***..." he muttered as his work uncovered something... it looked like a stone wall...  
  
"Pete! Come take a look at this!!" he yelled, and his friend and coworker came running, "this better be important, Holloway," he said... then he too noticed the wall.  
  
"what the frell?"  
  
****  
  
Princess Aurora heard the strange noise stop, and heard talking outside... her true love come to rescue her perhaps? she hoped so. She got out of bed and glanced at the finger she cut on the spinning wheel. It had healed long ago. Her stomach growled as she realised she hadn't eaten in a very long time. She had no idea how long. She quickly crossed the room and walked through the door, in search of servants who couldcook for her.  
  
What she saw chilled her to the bone.  
  
What she saw made her feel sick.  
  
What she saw would give her nightmares for months.  
  
Corpses. Skeletons mostly. Just lying there, on the castle floors. She screamed, and ran back to her empty bedroom. She needed to sit down.  
  
****  
  
"'ey Holloway, you hear that? sounded like a scream," Pete stared at his friend.  
  
"You dont suppose theres someone... alive in there?" she asked.  
  
"sounded like a chick, that scream."  
  
They went back to cutting away the nettles, with renewed urgency. there was a woman trapped in that.... building... whatever it was...  
  
****  
  
Aurora stared wide-eyed at the floor, she still couldn't believe what she had seen. Some sick part of here wanted to look again, to make sure she hadnt imagined it... but no. She knew it was real. That everyone she knew was dead, that perhaps even her prince was dead...  
  
She was freezing and she couldn't move... she was terrified, and she couldn't scream or anything... if the palace staff were dead, and lying in the corridor outside, did that mean... did that mean Prince Charming was dead too?  
  
She lay on the bed and began to sob. 


	2. The Finding

It took hours, but eventually Pete, Matt and the rest of their team managed to cut part of the forest down. They found themselves staring at a castle.. that looked like something out of a fairy tale...  
  
Matt took a step towards the entrance, then stopped, looking up he could see a portcullis that could easy fall and block the door, luckily it was up and they could enter. But that wasn't what made him stop.  
  
A few skeletons, some wearing armour, lay on the ground. Human remains. He shivered. Began to feel a little queasy.  
  
The conversation some of the others were having ceased... the men simply stared.  
  
But there was a woman inside here, alive. He wondered to himself how she had managed to survive when all these people had perished so long ago that their remains had decayed to simply being skeletons... not exactly clean skeletons... but skeletons nontheless.  
  
"oh... my Goddess," a voice behind him said. Matt himself, was speechless, and it took some time to work up the courage to actually enter this terrible burial ground. Respectfully and fearfully, the team walked, knowing that the woman they had heard scream was inside the building, somewhere.  
  
The ammonia stench of decay was overpowering.  
  
****  
  
Finally Aurora managed to stop herself crying. She had to leave the castle, she knew that, to see what kind of a place this was, this world without the people she knew.  
  
Mustering up all the courage she had, she left her room, and trying not to look at the remains of her former servants and friends, walked down the corridor towards the steps. It was hard. And several times she fought to stop herself from turning back. But she could not stop the tears blurring her vision. Could not stop the tears that made her trip on her dress and fall to the floor...  
  
Could not stop herself from looking into the decaying face of her former chambermaid...  
  
Could not stop herself from screaming louder than before.  
  
Then scrambling to her feet, without any dignity and running as fast as she could, holding her skirt to prevent tripping.  
  
****  
  
They entered the castle and heard something. The team stopped.  
  
Finally  
  
"what was that?"  
  
"I dont know"  
  
Another scream.  
  
"That'll be your woman, Matty."  
  
Matt was wondering how she got here, and how, if she had been here a long time, she was not simply too used to the decaying corpses to be frightened enough to scream.  
  
They walked, at a much faster pace.  
  
****  
  
Aurora leaned against the wall, catching her breath, still terrified. Not far to go now, not far at all...  
  
She just had to get down these stairs, and then through the entrance corridor and she would be at the courtyard, and from there the gatehouse and then she would leave the palace...  
  
Not far to go now, not far at all...  
  
****  
  
Pete was the one who noticed the stairs. "Her screams came from this direction, we should go this way."  
  
they mounted the staircase, and began to ascend the steps, one by one, slowly, and fearfully.  
  
****  
  
Aurora heard those male voices again. And footsteps. Coming this way. She stopped walking, hope made her heart beat faster, if she had survived this, whatever it was that had killed everyone, then perhaps her Prince Charming had? She found herself smiling at the thought. Feeling happy and hopeful despite the desolation around her. If Prince Charming still lives, she can still have her Happy Ever After...  
  
****  
  
Matt found himself face to face with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had soft blonde hair, entrancing blue/green eyes, skin an un- natural shade of white, a dress that looked like something out of a period drama, but was low-cut, and long enough to reach her feet...  
  
This woman... was alive in this? she had survived? how?  
  
Speechless, he simply stared. As did the other men. The woman looked confused.  
  
"Good morrow valiant knights. Might I asketh thee who thou art? and where my Prince is?"  
  
She spoke strangely, but had a pleasant voice. After a moment, Matt somehow managed to speak, "Hi, I'm Matt. Dont know ummm... nothin 'bout a prince, but we gotta get you out of here. Whats your name anyway?"  
  
"Princess Aurora."  
  
Matt nodded, she was obviously insane. Well, he mused, why else would she be *here* if she wasn't crazy? 


	3. The First Day

**sorry this took so long. I know, this chapter was due yesterday, but my muse went to sleep, and I had writers block. Then I finally managed to wake her up and I just wasn't happy with what I wrote, so instead of uploading this yesterday I slept on it, and went back to it today... I hope you like it and that it was worth the wait. Review please. Thanks to those that have already reviewed... you're letting me know that this is going OK :) -=Demo Summers=-**  
  
****  
  
"...so yer tellin me, that you been asleep in that there castle since 1801?"  
  
Aurora nodded. The men laughed and she looked confused.  
  
"sorry lady, but I--," he began, but she interrupted, "Sirrah, I am not a Lady, I am a Princess," she insisted.  
  
"OK, sorry Princess, but I find that 'ard to believe."  
  
More laughter.  
  
Aurora looked hurt. Poor girl was shivering with cold, was still in shock.  
  
"So I slept for 300 years? but that cannot be true..."  
  
"why not?"  
  
"I was only supposed to sleep for 100 years... and then my Prince Charming would come."  
  
"Prince Charming?!"  
  
"Verily"  
  
"An' 'oo are we sposed ta think ya are? Sleepin' Beauty?"  
  
"In truth, aye"  
  
More laughter.  
  
She begain to cry.  
  
Matt glared at Pete, wondering why he was laughing at the poor girl... no, he decided it was probably best to humour her.  
  
"Guys, this woman has just been through something really traumatic, and all you can do is laugh?," he glared, "come on Princess Aurora, we're leaving."  
  
Matt put an arm round Aurora, and she did not protest, together they left the site, heading for Matt's car. Understandably, Aurora looked a little fearfully at his landrover  
  
"what is that?," she asked.  
  
"Its called a car."  
  
"A car?"  
  
Finally he managed to explain just what a car is, and drove her to his house. Showed her to a spare room he had, and sat down to watch TV, leaving her to explore for a while. Until she complained that she was hungry. After all, she hadn't eaten for 300 years... He decided to take her out for pizza, and buy her some new clothes while they were out there.  
  
****  
  
Dear Diary  
  
We found this castle at the site, and inside was this chick. Calls herself Princess Aurora. She's crazy, seems to believe she's some fairy tale princess, Sleeping Beauty actually. Very pretty though. Took her out for pizza and bought her some new clothes, she liked the pizza but seemed shocked by what women these days are wearing. Weird. Even complained about pants. In the end she got a few dresses and skirts. Long ones. Pity, she has great legs.  
  
****  
  
Dear Diary  
  
My Prince is gone. Forever. I slept for 300 years and not 100... everyone I know is dead and the people here do not even seem to believe in faeries.. how can they not? the world is so different now. I dont think I like it. I just want to go home!  
  
****  
  
It took Aurora a few moments to remember where she was. The room was still quite dark, but she could hear birds outside. She got out of bed, and dessed quickly. What took the time was combing her own hair, for the first time ever, she used to have servants who dressed her and did her hair for her.. and made sure that she looked good, in these new clothes, and that they went with her tiara. There was a lovely smell on the air.  
  
"Mornin Princess, sleep well?," Matt asked. She nodded and saw that he had placed two plates of food on the table, she sat opposite him and started eating.  
  
After breakfast, he took her through to the front room, comfortable-looking furnature faced a black box. She looked at the box with interest, wondering what was so special about it that all the furniture would face it. She approached it, and suddenly as she touched it, an image appeared, an image that spoke and moved. Alarmed, she jumped back.  
  
"What form of magic is that?"  
  
"Its called television. You watch it."  
  
A few hours later, Matt had to go back to the site. He showed her how to use the phone, in case of an emergency, then told her where she could find some leftover pizza he'd left in the fridge, then left.  
  
She soon discovered childrens TV, and happily sat watching a marathon of fairy tales and fairytale based movies that had been put on in honour of a school holiday.  
  
Until the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty came on. She lay on the floor for hours after, thinking of what might have been, of what should have been.  
  
And of her Prince Charming.  
  
The tears simply flowed, she couldn't stop them, and suddenly she was lying on the floor crying her little heart out. It hurt so much. 


	4. I Want To Go Home

Matt entered the room to see Aurora lying on the floor. He switched the light on, and knelt beside her. Moments later she was in his arms, he held her tightly as she cried on his shoulder.  
  
"I want to go home...," she whispered through the tears, "take me home, Matt"  
  
"Back to the castle? yes. Thats why I';m here, to take you back there..."  
  
"No! Not the castle. Everyone at the castle is..."  
  
"You mean, you want to go back in time 300 years? to 1701?"  
  
She only nodded.  
  
"I'm sorry, Aurora, thats impossible."  
  
She moved away from him, her eyes met his.  
  
"But it cant be. You have magic..."  
  
"Not magic, technology..."  
  
"No! it is magic. You have the power to make images appear in that box, images that talk and move. And to create light in a dark room, the intensity of the sun itself, and to make carriages move without horses, or anything... You are powerful, you *can* send me home!"  
  
She looked angry and hurt. Matt wanted more than anything to make it all OK, to make her smile and laugh again. But he couldn't. He shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry"  
  
She ran to her room and slammed the door behind her.  
  
****  
  
A few hours later Matt and Aurora arrived at the castle. She took a deep breath. By now all the... corpses.. had been taken to a nearby morgue. There would be a funeral tomorrow. Matt still hadn't been able to tell the Princess. They needed her here to show them around her home. Some archaeologists would be arriving tomorrow to take a look around a real fairytale castle. All work here at the site had been called off. The team had had a very long, very busy, very traumatic day.  
  
Aurora, Matt, Pete, and a few other men approached the gates. Matt squeazed Aurora's hand, trying to make her feela little less... whatever she felt. She barely seemed to acknowledge the emptiness of the courtyard and suddenly she stopped walking. Whispered, "I want to go home." Matt let go of her hand and put an arm round her, comfortingly.  
  
"It'll be OK"  
  
****  
  
He had to tell her about the burial.  
  
It was a few hours later, at Matt's house. The castle was neatly mapped. Aurora's work was done and her things were being taken to Matt's house. It being her home, she had first pick of the stuff, before the archaeologists could take anything to any museum.  
  
"Princess..."  
  
She looked up.  
  
"Aurora, I need to tell you something..." 


	5. And Then...

Aurora stared at her food, she was not hungry. She had just seen everyone she had ever known burried. She couldn't eat, and could not sleep either. The room was silent, the TV off, and Matt staring at her as he ate.  
  
"You'll be OK," he finally managed to say. She did not answer, simply stared at the wall, pushed the plate of food away from her. Her mind couldn't help but drift back to before she pricked her finger, before she fell asleep, before she even knew of her destiny...  
  
Matt watched her carefully. He didn't know how she felt, but he had a pretty good idea... he imagined what it would feel like to see everyone you ever knew burried... but he couldn't.  
  
The evening passed into night with all the speed of a snail on superglue.  
  
****  
  
Pete eyed the archaeologists with mistrust. They had arrived this morning, a day late, and immediately demanded to take a look around inside the castle. Aurora and Matt werent even here yet... surely the archaeologists were tresspassing? this *was* Aurora's home, *right*?  
  
But despite his protesting that they wait and ask Aurora, the newcomers had entered the castle and were now exploring, taking photos, videotaping everything, and stealing the occasional item for a museum they had promised some artifacts to. Aurora was not going to like this.  
  
He shook his head and went back to the coffee machine for a refill.  
  
****  
  
"Thee said they could do WHAT?! art thou sane sirrah?"  
  
"Aurora..."  
  
"PRINCESS Aurora!"  
  
"Princess Aurora, calm down, please!"  
  
Pete stared at the furious princess. He glanced at Matt. Matt put a hand on the Princess's arm, "calm down honey..."  
  
Honey? thought Pete..  
  
Inwardly Matt cursed himself for his slip of the tongue, yes, he was falling in love with Aurora... but he hadn't meant to make it so obvious what if she...  
  
He called me honey?, Aurora thought. She knew by now that honey was a term of endearment... perhaps that meant Matt felt the same about her as she felt about him? but no... that couldn't be possible... could it?  
  
"Matt..."  
  
"Yes Aurora?"  
  
She hesitated. She wanted to find out if he loved her, like she loved him, but was now the right time to ask? She bit her lip, glanced at the floor and decided to wait.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Matt found himself feeling strange. Happy because she hadn't objected to being called honey, and also unhappy, because she showed no sign that she even so much as liked him...  
  
Pete watched. He knew his friend was in love with the girl, even though they had only met a few short days ago... and he could see in her eyes that she loved Matt... He shook his head.  
  
****  
  
Aurora watched a group of strangers leave her castle carrying strange equipment, and more than a few very familiar looking items. She shook her head. The castle wasn't home anymore... Her home was long gone. As was her Prince. And she was stuck here forever.  
  
Suddenly she just didn't care. They could do whatever they wanted to her... the... castle now. She turned her back on it, and began walking back to Matt.  
  
All she needed was a chance to tell him how she felt... and if he didn't feel the same, then what was the point in all this? He was the only truly good thing she had found in this strange new world. 


	6. I Love You

Matt watched TV. Aurora watched Matt. The hours drifted by, and she thought about the best way to tell him how she felt. She knew it needed to be said. Three small words and so hard to say. 'I love you'... what if he didn't feel the same, what if..  
  
Matt couldn't concentrate on what he was watching. Sure, it was his favourite program, but still.. he couldn't concentrate. He thought only of Aurora  
  
****  
  
"Matt, we need to talk," Aurora said as the show he was watching ended. Matt looked at her  
  
"Yes, we do," he switched the TV off.  
  
"Matt..."  
  
"Yes Aurora?"  
  
Silence  
  
Then they both said it. At the same time exactly.  
  
"I Love You"  
  
Confused silence  
  
"You love me?"  
  
"Aye. More than thou canst know."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
They kissed.  
  
****  
  
The next day, Matt and Aurora arrived at the castle, to see Matt's friends packing up to leave, and the archaeologists setting up camp. Silently Matt and Aurora set to work helping Matt's team. The demolition engineers avoided the archaeologists, and the archaeologists avoided the demolition engineers. The teams kept their distance from each other.  
  
Eventually, the men who had uncovered Aurora's home left, and Aurora with them, just as soon TV crews arrived. Matt was relieved they had left before Aurora could be forced into any TV interviews.  
  
It was over. Soon the team would move onto a different site, but more than likely the castle would eventually be opened up as a national heritage site, and tour groups would explore it every day. Matt would have to break this to the princess as gently as he could.  
  
****  
  
As for Matt and Aurora, they grew to love each other more each day. Aurora eventually forgot about her Prince Charming and lived happily with Matt. In time, they married.  
  
****  
  
And they lived happily ever after  
  
The End 


End file.
